6/3/08
PF Coupe Interior, and Bad Fuel Hose

With the transmission in place and the drive shaft doughnut installed, it was time to put the interior back in the PF Coupe.

After finding the right fasteners and all the various interior pieces in the pile of parts that came with this car, I had the interior installed. There are a couple wrinkles in the piece that sticks to the firewall that I’d like to fix, but otherwise this car is another step closer to leaving the shop!

We still have to hang the exhaust under the car before we fire up the engine. After cutting off all the hangers that were incorrectly welded to the exhaust, I suspended the exhaust in place to check for fit. Nothing seemed to be hitting against the pipes or mufflers, so the next step is to mark where the factory hangers line up with the exhaust, and weld in new tabs to hang this exhaust the right way.

Last week I mentioned changing out the fuel lines and I received a couple e-mails about how to identify bad fuel lines. I found a piece of old fuel line at the shop to illustrate the problem. Several years ago, a batch of fuel line was sold by all the parts suppliers. It was made in Europe and sold to Vintage Ferrari Suppliers around the world. It turned out that after some exposure to something in our fuel the rubber inside the fuel hose began to dissolve. The dissolved rubber would ooze out past the seams of the yellow sheathing, and sometimes collect at the lowest part of the hose as you see here.

Today, most of the suppliers have switched to a hose with a new formulation that is supposedly safe from dissolving in modern fuel. It’s not easy to identify the new hose compared to the old hose unless yours is leaking a brown tar like substance from the seams. The bad hose is also has a dull yellow appearance when compared to the newer “fuel safe” stuff that has a glossy finish.

Check your hoses, and if it’s leaking or oozing tar, it’s time to change them out!

Just a reminder, I’m looking for a new Vintage Ferrari Project. If you have, or know of a restoration project, please let me know. It would be great to restore another car on this website! My E-mail.

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